December 2003
For what it is worth I have recently taken out breakdown cover with Breakdown Direct, as seen on the right hand side of this site. Their prices seem very competitive compared to the AA/RAC etc, but what swung if for me was that by buying their 301 cover, I also got "free" legal expenses cover. At the moment I buy this through my motor insurer, for which I pay somewhere in the region of £15-20, if memory serves me right, which I will dump when renewal comes around.
They don't do personal cover like AA/RAC, i.e it is the car that is covered not me, so if you drive more than one mode of transport e.g. car and motorbike (not at the same time!) you may be better off elsewhere. Read more
Late model Astras in particular. Does anyone know if changing the factory fit radio for an aftermarket unit would affect the time and temp readout on the seperate dash display?. I would like to get a CD player for my wife's car, but the cost of Vauxhall CD players easily exceeds that of high-end aftermarket units. Even used Vauxhall units on Ebay are priced higher than new well known aftermarket brands. While she would like a CD player I know she wouldn't like to lose the temp display or find that the ominous screen on her dash is now useless. Read more
just done a forum search which produced no results, so just wondered if anybody has any views on this subject?
is it better to have a "sudden total blowout" on a rear wheel or a front wheel,as far as handling the car afterwards is concerned?
i realise that the steering etc is going to be severly compromised on a front wheel one, but a rear wheel one would also affect this as the back-end starts to fish-tale.
the reason i ask, is i had one on the m6 three weeks ago, whilst doing about 90mph(no comments PLEASE!it's not a speeding thread!),i was in the middle lane and had just passed an h.g.v.when i became aware of a slight rumbling feel,the car behaved perfectly and was fully stable,allowing me to give the h.g.v plenty of room and cross the inside lane and park-up on the hard shoulder.i found this heartning at the time but as my car has 4 wheel steering i thought i'd pose the question.
on inspection the next day (it was night when it happened) the tyre fitter said it looked as if it had been shot-out,as it had a complete 1 inch hole in the outside wall and a larger raggedy one directly opposite in the inside wall!.
billy. Read more
Several years ago I had a rear blowout on my Cavalier (new tyres) on the M25. I spun a number of times and ended up halfway up the embankment by South Mimms services with the back axle ripped off!The road was crowded and how I missed hitting other vehicles is a miracle. I consider myself to be a competent driver IAM, skid pan training etc. and I had no chance to control the car. Opposite lock and counter steering at 70mph on 3 wheels is tricky.
Also, a friend of my Father ended up on his roof on the M1 folloowing a puncture. This is definately not the stuff of Holywood. Ask any driver who has experienced this - it is very real!
There are some decent examples of this 4x4 around at the moment for £10k mark or less, but with 100k plus mileage. Half of me says leave it you fool, and the other half says go for it you will love it.
No end of things to go wrong, and a worrying number have new engines at 60k.
Can anyone provide me with ownership feedback.
CHeers
Read more
Likewise, go for it. I've just bought a 98 4.6 HSE from the Brightwells Auction in Leominster. Full LRSH, 70K miles. So far so good. Yes they are thirsty, but if your mileage is not huge then it is not the end of the world. Most cars have complex multiplex electronics nowadays. People think a 7 series BMW is more complex and expensive to maintain than a 3 series but in reality a fully loaded 330 has as much digital kit as a 740.
I feel the reliability issue is overdone as well, and it is one of those cars where this is a lot of info/support on the net,plus a healthy range of independent garages. I would recommend Brightwells as a place to bag a straight from the dealer (because too old/too many miles) one owner car.
DVD posted this in "I have a question" earlier...
Many of you have come to know that excellent chap FiF on this Forum.A modest chap indeed. However this Forum may well be inundated with posts from him as work on the A.1 Motorway in his home area has unearthed what could be a relative, many times removed, and his form of Transport.
Watch out for
Classified: Well used Chariot, Registered 500 BC for sale
Discussion: Which current vehicle would you bury to survive to the year 8475?
Technical section: How do I re-shaft a 500BC Chariot?
tinyurl.com/xi1e
DVD
Interesting find but I'm always amazed by the huge asumptions made by experts in such cases. The BBC say...
In what seems to be a burial chamber, there are the remains of a man aged about 40 and the bones of 250 cattle, as well as the chariot. It is thought the cattle could have formed part of a huge funeral feast.
250 cattle for a funeral feast...blimey you guys eat well up north! Who's to say it wasn't just a very bad chariot accident involving a wandering herd?
In fact what's the betting, when they fully investigate the man's skeleton, that a small artefact is found tightly clutched in his hand. Carefully cleaning away the dirt they may well find the inscription "NOKIA".
M.M
Read more
Things (cars) to be buried and found in 500 years time.................A Fiat Stilo?
A question for the BR resident Japanese car experts.
If you were to change the oil on a diesel 1994 Toyota Carina e,which oil and brand would you recommend. Cars mileage is approx 84000. Read more
10w40 semi syn - try comma eurolite
My dad always told me to start the car with the clutch depressed; less strain apparently. I've always done this as it kind of made sense.
However when I'm sitting in stop-start traffic, even stopped at lights sometimes, I also sit with the clutch depressed - either in gear or neutral.
The question is, am I damaging something somewhere? Surely I must be stretching or wearing something doing this? On my old car, depressing the clutch in used to stop an annoying rattling; I think someone mentioned it might have been an "idler gear" ? I guess it's been habbit since then.... Read more
Alvin
Fair point. I'm always careful not to leave the car in gear, but I have been caught out when we had a Saab which had to be in reverse to remove the ignition key. Good handbrake so no damage other than the enduring shame of the eyes raised to heaven by 'er indoors, who was the regular driver of said car!
Yes, preselector gearboxes, as also used in the old London buses. I sure these could be left in gear, because of the way the system works, whilst the lever could be placed anywhere in the gate - it isn't directly conected to the selector mechanism of course. I think depressing the selector pedal, not strictly a clutch as these used a torque convertor {'fluid flywheel' as it was called}, does disengage the drive. Never thought of it as a safety hazard, but it certainly is, as you say.
Regards
John S
Hi guys,
The steering on my L reg escort is feeling really heavy at the moment and its starting to worry me!! Any ideas what it could be? It hasnt got power steering so its not that failing, and the tyres arent underinflated. Read more
Something is seizing up - eg, one of the bottom ball joints, a track rod ball joint, a suspension strut bearing, one of the steering column universals, the rack itself. There are many possibilites, but I would get it seen to ASAP as there is a possibilty that it could seize solid and leave you with no steering, or break up and leave you with wheels pointing in opposite directions. Either way not very funny....
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
Why is it that citroen have the same offers all the time but just rotate the name of the offer while the price stays static.
I know they do it for marketing hype and have given their cars a huge RRP just to knock it down, but surely if they keep on doing the same thing every month it will turn into the boy that cried wolf.
Read more
I rather fancy a late model 5 series about 2000/2001. I have noticed some that look rather smart with a factory body kit called the sport. The suspension is firmer and they have some extras. Since the fuel economy is similiar on all of them I thought I would treat myself to the 528 or 530. Any thoughts from owners?
Cheers
Peter Read more
I drive the 525 SE sport petrol.
Perfect.
110,000 faultfree miles.
Serviced according to the service indicator - meaning 5 oil changes so far (at approx 20k miles each) and 2 changes plugs ( at 40k and 80k)!! Next oil & plugs change due in about 4 weeks.
The ultimate drive slogan is well deserved IMO
Browse
In a similar vein to the initial question, the current trend towards "unique" fitting and separate dashboard displays could eventually make ICE a dealer-only option, as how many of the major ICE manufacturers are going to make models for every car under the sun. Also, removing these "unique" units doesn't appear to be an easy task. At the end of the day, the use of RF modulation may be the only option for aftermarket equipment.
Andy